Heidi says she got to feel like she was wanted for the first time in years

“It was a romantic, unforgettable time with a loving, caring man.

“I had forgotten how it feels to be wanted that much. We slept together in the same bed and although we kissed we did not have sex because Salieu is a strict Muslim and it is forbidden before marriage.

“I respected that because I love him completely.”

During the month Heidi was in The Gambia she met Salieu’s parents, who run a small farm in the country’s Serekunda district, a few miles from the capital, Banjul.

Heidi met his family who run a small farm a few miles away from the capital of The Gambia

They spent five days in the family’s home and visited crocodile and monkey sanctuaries, went on donkey rides in the jungle and strolls along sun-kissed beaches — which Heidi said felt like a world away from home in Hetton-le-Hole.

She added: “They were beautiful times. It was wonderful to meet his family, they were lovely and very accepting of me. I was made to feel very welcome in their home.

“Salieu has made it very clear my children are important to him and he has been talking to them for months in video conversations.

“He told me that my family would become part of his family, which proves how much he cares.”

Salieu says her kids are very important to him and plans on living with them as a happy family

After her month in The Gambia, school worker Heidi had to return to the UK but she is already planning her next visit — and the rest of her life.

She said: “I am going to marry Salieu when my divorce comes through and I’m prepared to convert to Islam if that’s necessary. If people don’t like that they will just have to lump it. I’m not going to cry about it.

“We’ll be together, one way or another, whether Salieu comes to live here or I find a way to take the children to The Gambia.

“When I left him at the airport in Banjul it was one of the hardest things I have had to do.